WE LIKE | Popelini – Paris 03

The first time I heard about Popelini, the first thing that came to my mind was to say the only Italian composer I knew was Verdi. But Popelini is nothing less than a little shop located rue Vieille du Temple in Paris which exclusively makes choux à la creme. It might sound crazy but it’s actually not that easy to find choux a la creme in Paris. After being ejected from nearby Jacques Genin where the cashier told us we couldn’t have the pastries to go, we headed directly to Popelini. We really needed to devour a dozen choux a la creme to regroup after our fiasco at Jacques Genin. When entering in the shop, the most difficult is to choose among the different flavors. We tried a wide range of flavors (vanilla, praline, chocolate, lemon, dulce de leche, caramel, rose, and coffee).

We resisted the temptation to eat them right away and headed to a nearby cafe to devour them discretely. The choux ball was perfect, just baked enough but not dry at all. I’m more dubious with the filling, a dense pastry-like cream. I actually felt a bit nauseous after eating some of them, especially vanilla, lemon and dulce de leche, but others were perfect. So far our favorite one is the praline, a must if you come to Paris.

All in all, Popelini might be where you’ll find the best choux à la creme in Paris. But after all, why Lauren Koumetz, former sous-chef with star pastry chef Christophe Michalak, would call her choux a la creme shop Popelini? Because this gentleman happened to be chef for Catherine de Medicis and created this recipe for her. There’s another Popelini shop rue des Martyrs. About €1.85 for one chou, €11 for six and €21 for twelve. More information on the opening hours and prices here.